The Berlinale (16-26 February) has finally announced the full line-ups of its Competition and Encounters strands, along with several Iranian- and Ukrainian-focused solidarity initiatives.

According to the official press release, this year’s main competition “aims to be as open as possible to all cinematic forms”. The 18 titles from 19 countries competing for the Golden and Silver Bears include “animated films and documentary, comedy and melodrama, dramas and period films, movies that rely on great performances or are driven by ‘natural’ actors”.

As usual, the line-up showcases a number of European titles. Margarethe von Trotta’s Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Margarethe von Trotta
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intervista: Marie Kreutzer
intervista: Marie Kreutzer
scheda film]), and her turbulent life. Meanwhile, Christian Petzold will be making a return to the Berlinale with Afire [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Christian Petzold
scheda film] (Germany). Starring Thomas Schubert, Paula Beer, Langston Uibel, Enno Trebs and Matthias Brandt, it takes place in a small holiday house by the Baltic Sea and centres on four young people coming together. As the parched forests around them begin to ignite, so too do their emotions.

With Music [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], Angela Schanelec has crafted a modern-day version of the Oedipus myth. The feature focuses on a young man who, at the age of 20, unwittingly murders his father, and who, while serving his sentence, falls in love and has a child with a woman who works in the prison. Schanelec returns to the festival after having won the Silver Bear for Best Director for her latest film, I Was at Home, but… [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Angela Schanelec
scheda film].

In Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emily Atef
scheda film] (Germany), Emily Atef will tell a story set in the countryside of Thuringia, East Germany, during the summer of 1990. In it, Maria is about to turn 19, lives with her boyfriend Johannes on his parents’ farm and would rather lose herself in books than focus on graduating. There is a sense of a new era dawning with the German reunification, when she bumps into Henner, the farmer next door. One touch is all it takes to ignite an all-consuming passion between Maria and the headstrong, charismatic man twice her age. The cast is led by Marlene Burow, Felix Kramer and Cedric Eich.

Other buzzy European productions include Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren’s 20,000 Species of Bees [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Estíbaliz Urresola
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scheda film] (France/Switzerland) and Nicolas Philibert’s On the Adamant [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nicolas Philibert
scheda film] (France/Japan).

Speaking about this year’s Encounters line-up, artistic director Carlo Chatrian said: “Sixteen titles and as many ways to articulate a collective narrative that embraces the present, witnesses the past and imagines the future. Perhaps the political dimension is more present than usual, but it is less about reproducing a chronicle than about questioning the past through a multitude of viewpoints and posing questions, so that audiences can expand their own worldviews.” Among the most highly anticipated European productions are Bas Devos’s Here [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bas Devos
scheda film] (Belgium), Tia Kouvo’s Family Time [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Tia Kouvo
scheda film] (Finland/Sweden) and Mehran Tamadon’s My Worst Enemy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mehran Tamadon
scheda film] (France/Switzerland).

The Berlinale also reaffirmed its support for Ukraine and Iran. “Like numerous cultural institutions worldwide, the Berlinale has expressed its solidarity with Ukraine and Iran. This is evident within the 2023 Berlinale in the sections and initiatives in the film selection and with various events – in part with cooperation partners,” states the official press release. You can find out more here. Further initiatives will be announced on 7 February.

The festival has also announced that the Berlinale Special section will host the world premiere of Superpower (USA), Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman’s documentary shot over the last year in Ukraine.

As previously announced (see the news), the gathering will be opened by Rebecca Miller’s She Came to Me (USA). The feature will screen out of competition as a Berlinale Special Gala at the Berlinale Palast.

Here is the full list of the selected titles, including those announced today:

Competition

20,000 Species of Bees [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Estíbaliz Urresola
scheda film] – Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren (Spain)
The Shadowless Tower – Zhang Lu (China)
Till the End of the Night [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Christoph Hochhäusler
scheda film] – Christoph Hochhäusler (Germany)
BlackBerry – Matt Johnson (Canada)
Disco Boy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Giacomo Abbruzzese
scheda film] – Giacomo Abbruzzese (France/Italy/Poland/Belgium)
The Plough [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Philippe Garrel (France/Switzerland)
Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Margarethe von Trotta
scheda film] – Margarethe von Trotta (Germany/Switzerland/Austria/Luxembourg)
Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emily Atef
scheda film] – Emily Atef (Germany)
Limbo – Ivan Sen (Australia)
Bad Living [+leggi anche:
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intervista: João Canijo
scheda film] – João Canijo (Portugal/France)
Manodrome [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – John Trengove (UK/USA)
Music [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Angela Schanelec (Germany/France/Serbia)
Past Lives – Celine Song (USA)
Afire [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Christian Petzold
scheda film] – Christian Petzold (Germany)
On the Adamant [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nicolas Philibert
scheda film] – Nicolas Philibert (France/Japan)
The Survival of Kindness – Rolf de Heer (Australia)
Suzume – Makoto Shinkai (Japan)
Tótem [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lila Avilés
scheda film] – Lila Avilés (Mexico/Denmark/France)
Art College 1994 - Liu Jian (China)

Encounters

The Klezmer Project [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Leandro Koch, Paloma Schac…
scheda film] – Leandro Koch, Paloma Schachmann (Argentina/Austria)
The Adults – Dustin Guy Defa (USA)
The Echo [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Tatiana Huezo (Mexico/Germany)
Here [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bas Devos
scheda film] – Bas Devos (Belgium)
In the Blind Spot [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ayşe Polat
scheda film] – Ayşe Polat (Germany)
The Cage Is Looking for a Bird [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Malika Musaeva
scheda film] – Malika Musaeva (France/Russia)
My Worst Enemy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mehran Tamadon
scheda film] – Mehran Tamadon (France/Switzerland)
White Plastic Sky [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Sz…
scheda film] – Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó (Hungary/Slovakia)
in water – Hong Sangsoo (South Korea)
Family Time [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Tia Kouvo
scheda film] – Tia Kouvo (Finland/Sweden)
The Walls of Bergamo [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stefano Savona
scheda film] – Stefano Savona (Italy)
Orlando, My Political Biography [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Paul B. Preciado
scheda film] – Paul B Preciado (France)
Samsara [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lois Patiño
scheda film] – Lois Patiño (Spain)
Eastern Front [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Vitaly Mansky, Yevhen Tita…
scheda film] – Vitaly Mansky, Yevhen Titarenko (Latvia/Czech Republic/Ukraine/USA)
Living Bad [+leggi anche:
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intervista: João Canijo
scheda film] – João Canijo (Portugal/France)
Absence – Wu Lang (China)

Berlinale Special

Superpower – Sean Penn, Aaron Kaufman (USA)
Love to Love You, Donna Summer - Roger Ross Williams, Brooklyn Sudano (USA)
100 Years of Disney Animation – a Shorts Celebration - Walt Disney, Dave Hand, Ben Sharpsteen, Lauren Jackson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Hannah, Jon Kahrs, Brian Menz, Jacob Frey, Hillary Bradfield (USA) (1922 - 2022)
Kiss the Future [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nenad Cicin-Sain e Bill Ca…
scheda film] – Nenad Cicin-Sain (USA/Ireland)
Golda [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Guy Nattiv (UK)
Kill Boksoon – Byun Sung-hyun (South Korea)
Massimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mario Martone
scheda film] – Mario Martone (Italy)
Last Night of Amore [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrea Di Stefano
scheda film] – Andrea Di Stefano (Italy)
Mad Fate – Soi Cheang (Hong Kong/China)
Sun and Concrete [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – David Wnendt (Germany)
Talk to Me – Danny and Michael Philippou (Australia)
Measures of Men [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lars Kraume
scheda film] – Lars Kraume (Germany)
Infinity Pool [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Brandon Cronenberg (Canada/Hungary/Croatia/France)
Loriot's Great Cartoon Revue [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Loriot and Peter Geyer (Germany)
#Manhole – Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Japan)
Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Robert Schwentke
scheda film] – Robert Schwentke (Germany/Morocco)
TÁR – Todd Field (USA)
Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Alex Gibney (UK/USA)